TALKING MUSIC WITH ANDREA
“Free, beautiful, instinctive and soothing - music is defined in many ways but one thing that remains the same is that music changes lives,” says Andrea, a faculty member at the GMI, performing arts education institute in India.
Andrea says she was introduced to the world of music at the age of nine, her first instrument being the guitar which she fell in love with.
She decided to study music by the age of 16, when it was time to make a decision about what she wanted to with her lif . Andrea says “(s)he wanted to nurture her growing ability to play music and wanted a formal education in the subject.”
Soon, she enrolled in the University of Music and Performing Arts in Vienna where she honed her skills at playing and writing music, experimenting with different genres and collaborating with artists.
She says “(h)er initial experiences with music performances were at underground bars, weddings, concerts and recitals”.
Over time, Andrea realized that her heart yearned to play the bass guitar, an instrument she was comfortable with. She says that the “transition from the guitar to the bass was natural” and it gave her an opportunity to amalgamate her love for rock and classical music.
That is how she eventually landed up pursuing a diploma in the bass followed by a stint at Berklee College of Music in Spain to explore her love for the instrument.
As much as she was a student who struggeled, Andrea gradually came to teach music over time, having “spent ten years understandingand exploring the music scene across the world”.
Terming teaching music a “fulfilling experience”, Andrea says she looks forward to her students’ ‘aha’ moment’, the moment of self-realisation.
Andrea, in her second term with the GMI, India’s leading contemporary music institute, says she learnt music by reading and writing music whereas Indian students learn by ear and repetition. “Though this learning method is vastly different from what she is used to, she has managed to strike a fine balance”, combining the Berklee syllabus with the demands of jazz and learning methods of Indian students.
Lastly, Andrea feels that music has more to do with skill than natural ability but a combination of the two can “create magic”. "She believes that music is mysterious and magical. If you know the nuances, you will enjoy it but even if you don’t, you’ll still lose yourself in the soothing melodies”.
For the full article, please click here - http://globalmusicinstitute.in/music-is-magic-and-a-mystery-in-conversation-with-andrea
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